Custom fit knee replacement in India | big boon to baby boomers seeking affordable knee replacement

March 16, 2012 - PRLog -- New technology gives hope to patients seeking a knee replacement
Latest technology in knee replacement surgery has restored mobility to two ladies at the Chettinad hospital, India. This news is a big boon to young patients planning a knee replacement in India.
Two middle aged ladies have got customized knee replacements by Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam, consultant orthopedic surgeon. Both middle aged ladies were suffering from knees arthritis for long. They had avoided a knee replacement earlier as results were not promising in young patients. Thanks to the latest technology, these two ladies can expect their new knee replacement to survive for a very long time. The technology is called patient specific instrumentation or customized knee replacement.
In conjunction with the durable Oxinium knee, the life of a knee replacement is now expected to be around thirty years. Conventional metal knee prostheses have a survivorship of ten to fifteen years. Middle aged patients can rest assured that they may not require another surgery.
Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam had earlier noticed a demographic trend of younger patients requiring knee replacement. This trend is a result of obesity, knee injuries and preexisting arthritic damage. In response to this growing need, he was the first surgeon to introduce the durable Oxinium knee implant in Chennai and amongst the first in India in 2008.  The latest advance will boost the outcomes further upwards. He is now offering a concept called 'custom fit knee replacement' to help prolong the life of implants in  young patients.
Oxinium™ joints are manufactured from the rare metal Zirconium. The metal Zirconium is heated to a high temperature and exposed to oxygen when it acquires a ceramic surface layer. The surface ceramic layer reduces wear of the joint by 5000 times thus increasing the life of the prostheses. In addition to their strength and longevity, Oxinium™ implants are lightweight and hypoallergenic. Therefore these implants are capable of surviving for lengthier periods in young patients than traditional implants.
The latest concept to be introduced is the ‘Visionaire’, patient specific instrumentation from Smith & Nephew. The ‘Visionaire’ patient specific instrument technology provides the surgeon a customized cutting jig derived from the individual patient’s anatomy. Patient’s anatomic data is gathered from pre-operative x rays and MRI scans. The images are sent online to the company’s engineers based in the US. An engineer uses this data to design and build customized surgical instruments that accommodate the unique shapes and angles of each patient's joint for a more precisely aligned implant. These customized molds or cutting blocks are shipped to the surgeon within four weeks. Armed with these customized cutting blocks, the surgeon is confident of shaping the patient’s bone very accurately.
Dr. Venkatachalam performed the latest surgeries utilizing this customized approach at the Chettinad super-specialty hospital.

Benefits of Patient Specific Surgery (custom made knee replacements)

A study published in The Journal of Arthroplasty concluded that surgeries using patient-matched instruments give results that were a full degree closer to neutral to the body's natural alignment than those which used traditional instruments. Accurate placement of an implant has long been considered and shown to reduce implant wear and improve longevity.

In addition to improving alignment, the Journal study concluded that patient-matched implant technology

1) Reduces the amount of time a patient spends under anesthesia.
2) Shortens hospital stays.
3) Reduces the length of the surgical incision required for knee replacements.
4) Minimizes blood loss.
5) Lowers the risk of infection

With this combined technology, the implants can be expected to last for thirty years versus the ten to fifteen years with traditional cobalt chrome implants.

The new approach to knee replacements offers a number of benefits including but not limited to conservation of existing bone and added stability of the knee joint. Utilizing patient specific instrumentation during the operation, the surgeon is able to make anatomically precise cuts of the knee bone for a customized fit of the prosthesis. The implant is thus aligned to fit the specific patient's knee anatomy precisely. Reduction of pain and increased mobility and range of motion are just a few of the added benefits of such stability.
The Oxinium™ implant with ‘Visionaire’ patient specific instruments, offers minimally invasive procedures that reduce the risk of bleeding, complications, infections and postoperative pain. Hospital stay is shortened. Patients are able to return to an active lifestyle faster than with traditional total knee replacement procedures, enhancing healing, mobility, and range of motion.
For more information regarding Dr. Venkatachalam, Oxinium™ implants & the ‘Visionaire’ system, please visit http://www.kneeindia.com.

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Orthopedic surgery centre in Chennai offers Joint replacement in affiliated super specialty hospitals